PSYPIONEER Founded by Leslie Price Edited by Paul Gaunt An Electronic Newsletter

Volume 1, No 20; December 2005.

Highlights of this issue

New Biography of Andrew Jackson Davis. 255 Mrs De Crespigny and the British College of Psychic Science. 258 The Parapsychology Foundation: Then and Now. 268 Historical Writings on Parapsychology. 270 in Australia may be ancient. 274 The twentieth issue of the Pioneer: we are offering a short quiz. 277 Notes by the way: Light on Mabel Collins. 279 How to obtain this Newsletter. 280

Psypioneer would like to extend its best wishes to all its readers and contributors for the coming year. 2006 will be the start of Psypioneer Volume. 2. …………………………………..

NEW BIOGRAPHY OF ANDREW JACKSON DAVIS

By John DeSalvo, Ph.D. The book is entitled Andrew Jackson Davis, The First American Prophet and Clairvoyant

VISIT THE ANDREW JACKSON DAVIS WEBSITE AT: WWW.ANDREWJACKSONDAVIS.COM

Book can be purchased from www.lulu.com

Direct link to purchase book is: http://www.lulu.com/content/164314

Dr DeSalvo introduces his book

Andrew Jackson Davis, who lived in the 19th century, was one of the most incredible clairvoyants in our known history. At a young age, he was able to transcend his normal conscious state and enter into a higher consciousness, which he called a “superior state.” In this state he was able to obtain higher information about the universe, life and death, and the future. One of his first gifts was the ability to diagnosis and prescribe treatments for individuals without receiving any information about them, similar to what Edgar

255 Cayce did about 50 years later. He could also, by entering this higher consciousness, obtain future information about the sciences, including astronomy, physics, chemistry, medicine, psychology, etc. Many of his scientific predictions have only recently come true. Unlike other prophets, Davis was very specific in his predictions and his accuracy is much higher than any other known seer or prophet. Davis could actually see and observe the death process and the way in which the spirit leaves the body and forms a new spiritual being. He even describes in detail the hereafter, which he was able to enter at will. My new book is an overview of his life, his writings, and his revelations. His possible involvement with Abraham Lincoln is discussed including the presence of Lincoln at several séances, his use of during the Civil War to obtain military information, and the role of Spiritualism in issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. Davis’ revelations are important for our present time. This book will open a new world for you and give you encouragement and hope for our future and the future of each individual person, both in this life and in the next.

Below is an edited extract from the Introduction to my book:

Most people I know have never heard of Andrew Jackson Davis. If I mention his name they think I am referring to President Andrew Jackson or maybe one of Jefferson Davis’ relatives. I only came upon his name while researching the question of whether Abraham Lincoln was interested in Spiritualism. I found a reference that Abraham Lincoln met and received counsel from Andrew Jackson Davis. So, I decided to buy some of his books and research this connection. I started reading his first and main work, The Principles of Nature, published in 1847, which is over 700 pages long. I could not put it down. Here in front of me was the philosophy and spirituality that I have been searching for all my life and I found answers to some of the most significant spiritual questions that I have been asking. This book truly has significance for people all over the world today.

What is so fascinating about Davis is the way he obtained this higher knowledge. He claimed to be able to enter into a higher consciousness, or dimension (he calls it a higher sphere), and observe the world and the universe with a higher awareness. At the time he received this gift, he was about 19 years old and fairly uneducated. Up to this time he only had five months of education and never read more than six books. His first book, The Principles of Nature, reveals new and prophetic information in the sciences that includes astronomy, physics, biology, metaphysics, medicine, philosophy, education, spirituality, government, and many other areas. It has to be one of the most all encompassing books of knowledge and prophecy ever written. Some of his predictions in the sciences and astronomy have only recently been shown to be true.

An interesting connection that I have with Davis is his interest in Egyptology. Davis said that it is important to research ancient Egypt and its monuments since it would shed light on our ancient origins. I have been the Director of the Great Pyramid of Giza Research Association for the past five years and when I first read about this in his book it truly caught my attention.

Why should I write a book on Andrew Jackson Davis? What can I contribute? As I

256 was reading through Davis’ Principles, it dawned on me that he was describing scientific principles and laws before they had been discovered. I realized that the average person might not pick up on the modern technological significance. How many would recognize the scientific principles and concepts that I was trained in?

The main question is why hasn’t anyone else discovered these things? Very few people know about Andrew Jackson Davis and even fewer have read his works. Of those, how many are scientists and can recognize these principles like I have? Davis has been lost in obscurity for the last 100 years, just at a time when many of his scientific predictions are coming true. I am also unusual in that I have a very broad background in the sciences that includes physics, astronomy, anatomy, physiology, chemistry, and biology. In addition, I have been very interested in paranormal phenomena and alternative research. I believe that this diverse background and interest in the paranormal is the perfect combination to study and write about Davis.

Also, how many scientists would even consider reading the works of a 19th century Seer and Clairvoyant who was uneducated and claimed to have received his knowledge from a higher realm? So I think I have found my niche.

My purpose in writing this book is to introduce you to the life and writings of Andrew Jackson Davis and encourage you to read his works. That is why I took the approach of using direct quotes whenever possible rather than rewriting what he had said. Also, since he has written over 30 books, and his major work, The Principles of Nature, is over 700 pages, I wanted to give an overview for those who do not have the time or motivation to read his books in their entirety.

After I discovered Andrew Jackson Davis, I decided to postpone my book on Abraham Lincoln and just write one on this amazing Prophet. After my first draft, I realized that it would be more complete if I added a chapter on Abraham Lincoln’s interest and involvement in Spiritualism. I had spent much time researching this for my book and had most of the materials. I think this is very appropriate since it seems very probable that Lincoln did know and consult with Andrew Jackson Davis since Davis was also considered the most famous Spiritualist at that time.

It is also known that Davis used psychometry (obtaining information psychically by holding an object) in his later years as a doctor to diagnosis his patients. Law enforcement officers sometimes use psychometry to help locate bodies or other objects involved in a crime. For over a year, I have been researching and trying to identify an interesting Lincoln assassination relic which I owned. I finally came to a dead end. After learning about Davis’ use of psychometry, I decided to apply this method to the relic. Using a psychometrist, I was able to solve the mystery of this relic and I have included a chapter on this. I believe that these two additional chapters will add greatly to the book and help illustrate many of the ideas and methods of Andrew Jackson Davis.

The appendix includes some of the most interesting prophetic dreams of Abraham Lincoln, a rare Civil War diary that records day by day the events of his assassination, as well as a rare photograph of Ford’s Theatre taken the day after the assassination.

It is my hope that this book will take you on a special journey and that you will learn something about Abraham Lincoln that you may not have known before.

257

I wish you well in your spiritual search and invite you to explore the world of Andrew Jackson Davis.

Dr. John DeSalvo would be most grateful for any source material and/or any information not readily known or available pertaining to Andrew Jackson Davis, and to contact him direct on [email protected]

…………………………………..

MRS DE CRESPIGNY AND THE BRITISH COLLEGE OF PSYCHIC SCIENCE

When did organised Spiritualism reach it peak in the UK? Possibly in the1930s, when four or five major London centres flourished. Consolidation had already begun before the outbreak of war (the International Institute joining the BCPS for example - see Newsletter September 2005); war and austerity removed others. But the grim reaper struck repeatedly at the leadership in the 1930s, as our many obituary-based features have shown. This month we turn to a totally forgotten figure.

LIGHT FEBRUARY 14 1935. Editor George H. Lethem.

MRS. DE CRESPIGNY TRANSITION OF A LEADER OF SPIRITUALISM

SPIRITUALISM has suffered a great loss - on the earth side of its activities - by the transition of Mrs. Philip Champion de Crespigny, Hon. Principal of the British College of Psychic Science, which took place on Sunday afternoon (February 10th), after a short illness. The funeral takes place tomorrow (Friday, February 15th), at 11.30 a.m., at Golders Green Crematorium.

On Sunday evening next (February 17th), the Marylebone Spiritualist Association meeting at Queen's Hall, London, will be conducted, in co-operation with the British College, as a memorial service for Mrs. De Crespigny, who was a vice-president of the M.S.A., and a frequent speaker at the Queen's Hall and other meetings. Mr. George Craze, president, will be in the chair, and, with Mr. Ernest Hunt, will speak for the Association; and Mrs. Hewat McKenzie, joint founder (with Mr. Hewat McKenzie) of the British College of Psychic Science, will speak for the College. The meeting begins at 7 o'clock.

Mrs. de Crespigny was an authoress of repute; and, in addition to her Spiritualist activities (which took her all over the country at frequent intervals), she took a very keen interest in literary societies and gatherings. She wrote a number of novels and detective stories, which had considerable success. Her latest book was autobiographical and was entitled This World and Beyond.

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Mrs. de Crespigny was a daughter of Admiral the Rt. Hon. Sir Astley Cooper Key, G.C.B., who was for a period First Sea Lord. She was married whilst still in her 'teens to Lt. Philip de Crespigny, R.N., second son of Sir Claud de Crespigny, the third baronet, but had long been a widow. She was chairman of the Psychic Research Circle founded by her at the Lyceum Club, and was on the Council of the Authors' Society. Mrs. de Crespigny was a daughter of Admiral the Rt. Hon. Sir Astley Cooper Key, G.C.B., who was for a period First Sea Lord.

The following appreciation of her work, from the pen of Mrs. Hewat McKenzie, will be read with interest.

AN APPRECIATION By MRS. HEWAT McKENZIE

DEATH has taken a heavy toll of leaders and pioneers of the Spiritualist Movement during the last few months, but to many of us it has dealt its hardest blow in the passing of Rose Champion de Crespigny. It was only in the middle of last week when at the Edinburgh College - to which she was such a good friend and which anticipated a visit from her in a few weeks - that I heard of the severer phase of her illness, followed-by - more hopeful news, and many throughout the country had not had time even to hear of the illness.

I remember when Mrs. Crespigny was first introduced to me by my husband, who before I met her remarked: " She strikes me as a very able and charming woman, and I would like you to be friends." The liking was mutual, soon after she joined the College Council, then under Sir 's chairmanship, and there began a collaboration, which has lasted and will endure. Later she was chosen as Hon. Chairman, and it was through her valuable work that the College moved its headquarters from Holland Park to the present desirable premises in Queen's Gate.

Some time before his passing, Mr. Hewat McKenzie had requested her to take my place as Hon. Secretary, to give me a much-needed rest, indicating the high regard he had for her abilities, but she was unable to do so at the time.

Six months after his demise, when I felt the burden of College and private affairs almost too much for one, she voluntarily offered to do so, saying that she felt Mr. McKenzie wished it. I accepted with gratitude, and at Easter, 1930, she took over the duties of Hon. Principal, and has died at her post. It was no light thing for one whose hands were already more than full, to add such Herculean labours, but she practically rearranged her activities so that she might give the time required. As the years passed, she gave than ever, and found the work making increasing demands upon time and strength. The College recognised her valuable services in a personal gift last year, and her friends hoped she would make an opportunity to have one winter out of England for her health's sake. Instead, her labours were increased. She took under her care the new centres associated with the College in Yorkshire, in Reading, in Ipswich, in Edinburgh, advising

259 and corresponding and visiting and lecturing at these centres on many occasions, and arranging for useful visits from College Mediums. She passed out in harness, as she would have wished, leaving with us the memory of a good and great woman, of a loyal friend, and of one who brought to our movement gifts of various orders from her many literary and artistic interests.

She had the gift of making friends in many walks of life, and her supreme contribution to the College was the variety of persons of social standing and of literary and scientific fame that she introduced to the subject. Keenly interested in science herself, she felt a particular call to bring psychic facts to its notice, and the College annual dinners of the last four years were distinguished by the guests who came willingly at her invitation to grace the occasion -Sir William Bragg, Prof. McBride, Prof. Fraser-Harris, and others; only within the last few months she had interested many distinguished persons in the Church, and had addressed gatherings of Clergy on psychic phenomena. Nor did she lack courage in public aspects, and we all remember with gratitude her affectionate care and support of Mrs. Meurig Morris during the days of the famous trial, and her ability when placed in the witness box.

On many occasions she told me how closely she felt the presence and inspiration of Mr. Hewat McKenzie in all her work, and was the means again and again of passing on to me personal messages from him. I can visualize a host of friends ready to greet her " over there," and with them she will band herself to continue her untiring efforts to further the work to which she had given her heart and her whole self.

Hail and farewell, dear friend; your name "liveth for ever " in the annals of Psychic Science. ………………………………………………………………………

Of the capacity of death to remove leaders, the widowed Mrs McKenzie knew well. It was natural that she should give the main tribute to Mrs De Crespigny at the memorial meeting:

LIGHT, FEBRUARY 14, 1935. THE GROWTH OF A SOUL

HOW MRS. DE CRESPIGNY BECAME A LEADER OF SPIRITUALISM

Queen's Hall, London, was filled to the topmost gallery on Sunday night (February 17th) when a service in memory of Mrs. Philip Champion de Crespigny, Hon. Principal of the British College of Psychic Science, was held by the Marylebone Spiritualist Association (of which she was a Vice-president) In co-operation with the British College. Mr. George Craze, President of the M.S.A., presided, and the speakers were Mrs. Hewat McKenzie (representing the British College) and Mr. Ernest Hunt. The seat in the front row of the stalls which Mrs. de Crespigny usually occupied was reserved and decorated with a large bunch of flowers.

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MRS. HEWAT McKENZIE'S TRIBUTE

You must all be born anew; the wind blows where it chooses and you hear its sound but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So is it with everyone who has been born of the Spirit. -John 3-8 (Weymouth's Translation).

WHEN we meet and recognise great souls, we begin to ponder on the wonder of their being amongst us at all. Had they a pre-existence and an education, which fitted them for the unique position they claimed so naturally in their lifetime? Does heredity and environment explain them? Do they justify the theory of Reincarnation, of successive lives on this planet? Amongst Spiritualists who claim communication from another world, there are diversities of view upon the matter; some pin their faith to Reincarnation, others hold that many worlds are open to the progressing soul previous to birth and after death.

Our friend, Mrs. Champion de Crespigny-in whose memory this service is arranged by the kind consideration of the Marylebone Spiritualist Association in co-operation with the British College of Psychic Science, of which she was the honoured Principal, and which I have been asked to represent on this occasion -held a belief in Reincarnation. At one period of her life, previous to her investigation of psychic facts, she was a student of Theosophy, and at that time arrived by conviction at this conclusion, and retained it to the end.

Looking at her life-which reached its three score years and ten- as it was known to her intimate friends and as recorded in her autobiography, This World and Beyond, published as recently as last year, we discover that a Pandora's box filled, not with the fabled ills and vices of legend, but with lovely gifts, was opened at her birth.

She was fortunate in her family and her early environment; the daughter of a distinguished sailor whose duties took him to various countries, giving his family the advantages of foreign travel and perhaps stimulating that adaptability which was a notable feature of Mrs. de Crespigny's character. The exigencies of life and disasters which came to her notice through her environment, early awakened in her mind a query as to what happened after death to those who met untimely ends, and started a train of thought which later became her dominating interest.

Her father, for whom she had the greatest admiration, was also a lover of science, and his family were brought into contact with many distinguished persons of the day in science and letters, and here again was fruitful soil for the intense interest in all scientific achievements which she maintained throughout her career and in the literary pursuits in which she distinguished herself.

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MUSIC, ART AND LITERATURE

A member of a happy family circle, she married early in life, keeping her link with the sea in her husband's profession. Transferred by circumstances to a country life in the New Forest, the beauty of the surroundings and her love of Nature continued her development. Here she had all the experiences, which gather round wifehood and motherhood and a happy comradeship of thirty years with her husband. A great love of music-she was herself a skilful musician-made new interests, and many years later this interest was the occasion of a psychic message from one who had been helped by her at this time, a fact quite unknown to the mediumistic friend who gave the message, which was confirmed a few days later by the news from abroad of the death of the friend from whom it came.

A passion for painting was in her blood; and in the New Forest, surrounded by trees, she felt herself compelled to draw ships-nothing but ships, recalling memories of her childhood's travels. Later, when she settled in London, she frequented the Port of London in pursuit of these studies, and many charming pictures came from her brush, which have been shown and valued at many exhibitions. Indeed, one of her last jobs was the superintending of the hanging of some of her pictures in an art group at present exhibiting in London.

The creative urge was now upon her; and partly through this and partly for reasons of necessity, she began to use her pen in writing imaginative fiction. This continued up to her passing, and over a score of novels and detective stories of no mean order stand in her name. Occasionally also the poetic urge appeared, and in a recent Writers' Club Anthology a number of her poems were published. I mention this progressive development as indicative of the growth of her soul-forces seeking an outlet through many channels.

No woman of her day and social standing could escape being caught up in the discussion that gathered round the status of women and which focussed in the Suffrage Movement, and in 1922 she published The Mind of a Woman, in which the history of women through the ages, illustrated from the lives of great women, gave her point of view. In this, she particularly emphasises the intuitive powers of the woman and the great role these will play as an asset to humanity when the day of their full recognition dawns.

STUDY OF THEOSOPHY

In the midst of all this growth and busyness, the quest as to the Why and Wherefore of Life and Death proceeded at a deeper level. Orthodox views of religion in which she had been trained left her unsatisfied; science presented her with a materialistic universe which equally repelled her, and we find her reading deeply on many lines to find a solution which would satisfy her inner longings. Part of the answer came through

262 Theosophy, which opened the lore of the East to her, and taught her methods of concentration which revealed the hidden knowledge of powers of the soul beyond the five senses which has never been hidden to those who seek. She gained from this study a rational idea of religion and a conception of the evolution of the soul of man, which was invaluable. She mentions particularly in this connection her friendship with Mr. A. P. Sinnett, one of the pioneers of the Theosophical Society, and the influence of his book, The Growth of the Soul, upon her mind.

But valuable as this knowledge was and remained to herself, it was of small use to others who were in equal need of help but who were less intellectually equipped and unable to put in the personal labour required for attainment; nor did it bring comfort to the mourner faced with the problem of death and survival, and to whom religion offered no solace; and so the way was opened for first-hand study of psychic facts.

Her widowhood had brought her to London, free to plan her life as she wished, and in 1914, the opening year of the War, we find her attending her first séance for the "direct voice" with Mrs. , of Detroit, then on a visit to London. She was introduced anonymously by a Theosophist friend who was also a Spiritualist, Col. Johnson, who, we learn, later returned after his death through another Voice Medium and gave her an indication of a legacy he had left her of which she was quite unaware.

A profound distaste towards professional mediumship had been bred in her through her connection with Theosophy, and it was almost against her own judgment that she agreed to attend this séance. The evidence on this occasion and what arose out of it proved it to be in her own words " the most marvellous experience of her life."

Now began years of strenuous investigation in all phases of phenomena-physical, trance, psychometry (which was always of the deepest interest to her), and the study of the public demonstration of and clairaudience and trance speaking. Nor did she keep this knowledge to herself, for during the trying years of the War, she made many opportunities in her own home for others to gain similar evidence of survival. These activities were not always welcomed by a large circle of friends and relatives, but undeterred she pursued her way. She had found " a pearl of great price."

Her life must have been a very full one at this period. Already more than occupied with her painting and her writing, she became one of the organisers of the great women's club, The Lyceum, and later organised a Psychic Circle there as one of its many activities. She held honorary executive positions in the Writers' Club and in the Authors' Society, and was in demand as a speaker at many social functions in connection with these. As a Chairman, she was particularly happy, her charm and kindliness and gift of humour made her welcome on every occasion. Later came public speaking large audiences- including the Queen's Hall meetings-though she tells us that this always was an effort and only undertaken by the urge to bring to others the illumination which had come to herself.

263 AT THE BRITISH COLLEGE

One of the earliest members of the British College when it was founded in 1920, she soon became a valued member of its Council under the Presidency of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, whose friendship and that of Sir she cherished. My husband esteemed her highly; and out of her deep regard for him, and as a result of a message she received after his passing, she volunteered in 1930 to undertake the position of Hon. Principal of the College. The reins were in her capable hands when she passed from our visible sight. She pursued her investigations to the very end.

She brought honour and advancement to the work during these five years, introducing through her many social contacts distinguished people from all walks of life-literary, scientific and members of the clergy-to observe and register the value of psychic demon- stration.

Only those who are engaged in the work of such Societies know the responsible and onerous nature of the work. Their officers must stand as a buffer between public antagonism to a new subject and the constant demands from others for such knowledge. Sensitives, the only instruments available for demonstration, must be found and cared for lovingly and wisely. They must suffer unflinchingly the weakness and defections of the Sensitive on the one hand and the ignorance of the investigator on the other, and are all the time like a captain on the bridge of a vessel tossing in stormy waters. Mrs. de Crespigny brought the fruits of a life's experience to this task and gave her last ounce of strength and leisure to it. Harmonious in her own nature, she made harmony around her; a courageous nature gave others courage and confidence; and her kindliness and social charm made friendship easy.

She was deeply interested in the younger generation and kept herself abreast of all modern developments, and saw in many of these the pointing finger to a more general recognition of the invisible force in the universe.

I do not want it to be thought I am presenting in this brief sketch a paragon of virtue unattainable by others. I but indicate the growth and development of a noble soul, planned on noble lines, who, having found a clue to the meaning of life, fought and energised with her whole being to make this clear to others.

Not content with the London work, she extended her activities to assist similar centres in the Provinces, and half-a-dozen centres owe their strength to-day to her personal attention and ministry, involving much time and fatiguing journeys which she could not well stand. Many a platform in the London area will be the poorer for her loss, and many societies in which she held office will miss her wise counsel.

To myself, her unswerving loyalty and dependability were her chief charm, and on many occasions I admired her tremendous courage in tackling difficult situations. While not claiming any spectacular psychic gifts of her own, she had a certain intuitive perception born of her prolonged exercises in concentration, to which also she

264 attributed the strength required for her heavy and continuous labours. She knew the source of power, and was sustained throughout by a deep religious conviction, born out of inner spiritual experiences which gave direction to her life. On occasions she had correct premonitions regarding her family and friends.

EXAMPLES OF COURAGE

Speaking of her courage, I would mention two instances which are outstanding. On one occasion, she was invited to be present at a séance with a Medium who had the power of handling fire with immunity. This is a rare gift in the West though well verified in the East. The séance was held in full daylight, and a reporter of a daily journal was present who recorded the incident in his paper on the following day. The Medium walked round the circle holding a burning log which had been well-fired by the sitters. She offered it to various sitters, including the journalist, whose hair it sizzled as it came near him, but all refused to handle it except Mrs. de Crespigny, who, confident in a knowledge of the laws of the etheric forces which must be in operation, and denying all fear within herself, had it laid upon her hand, retaining it while the Medium walked away. When it was removed after an interval, there was not even a red mark upon her hand, which in ordinary circumstances would have been burnt to the bone; she was conscious only of a pleasant warmth. This was perhaps her outstanding psychic experience.

Of moral courage, she had an equal endowment and it is within all our memories how nobly she faced counsel, judge and jury in the Meurig Morris trial, when the strongest legal forces were arrayed against that Medium, and how loyally she comforted and supported her during the trying ordeal. She may have contributed more than we realise to the verdict, which was practically a triumph for the Meurig Morris trial, when the strongest legal forces were arrayed against that medium, and how loyally she comforted and supported her during the trying ordeal. She may have contributed more than we realise to the verdict, which was practically a triumph for the medium.

The passing of Mrs. de Crespigny leaves a blank we hardly know how to meet; but not one of us would grudge her the promotion so well earned. For long she had been impatient for the moment when the door to the Great Adventure of life out of the body would be opened to her; and we can visualise the welcome that greeted her-not only from her own circle of friends, but from the band of pioneers who had preceded her. They will have offered her the rest and refreshment she needed until her soul demands again opportunity for new activities for its abounding energy. Only the Spiritualist, convinced scientifically of survival, can take this view of the progressive soul, and it is our joy to declare it anew.

If we wish to thank her for her labours and her love, we can best do so by renewing our allegiance to these facts and preparing ourselves to do battle for them. In this audience are those who can take up some of her work and fill the gap she has left. I invite you in her name and as a tribute to her arduous labours on

265 behalf of Spiritualism to prepare and offer yourselves for such service. Rose Champion de Crespigny was a pioneer in a subject, which is still fighting its way to recognition. Let us together say to her now-

We take up the task Eternal, And the burden, and the lesson, Pioneer ! O Pioneer !

Mr. Ernest Hunt, in an eloquent address, paid tribute to the work and character of Mrs. de Crespigny; and, as a sign of their respect, the audience stood in silence.

Miss Lind-af-Hageby, President of the L.S.A., telegraphed from Toulon as follows: -" Please add my tribute of admiration and deepest appreciation to the great work done By Mrs. de Crespigny."

Mr. George Craze, in opening the proceedings, stated that already, at M.S.A. meetings, Mrs. de Crespigny had returned and given several encouraging messages. Mrs. Helen Spiers, giving clairvoyance, said Mrs. de Crespigny was present.

THE FUNERAL SERVICE

The funeral of Mrs. de Crespigny took place at Golders Green Crematorium on Friday morning. The service was conducted by the Rev. C. Drayton Thomas in the presence of relatives and of representatives of most of the Spiritualist organisations in London- including the London Spiritualist Alliance, the British College of Psychic Science, the Marylebone Association, the W. T. Stead Bureau, the Spiritualist Community, the S.N.U., the " Power " Group, and the London Spiritual Mission. Various literary societies with which Mrs. de Crespigny was associated were also represented. Mr. Thomas bore personal testimony to the love and respect, which Mrs. de Crespigny inspired in those with whom and for whom she worked. ……………………………………………

But was Mrs De Crespigny entirely departed? A strange experience was also reported: LIG HT FEBRUARY 28, 1935.

A VISITORS VISION CRESPIGNY IN HER USUAL SEAT AT BRITISH COLLEGE

VARIOUS people have suggested that I should write you regarding my experience during a lecture given at the British College of Psychic Science on Wednesday, February 13th, by Mr. J. Deighton-Patmore, on " Colour-Life and Spiritual Vibrations." (I should mention that I know very little about psychic matters, having been somewhat sceptical of them).

266 At one stage in his lecture, Mr. Deighton-Patmore asked four members of the audience to sit on the platform, and on a table in front of them he placed what is known as his " Magic Bowl." The bowl is illuminated from a very small bulb beneath it, and all other lights in the room were turned off. We were asked simply to watch the four people on the platform and note any change, etc. I first watched the said bowl; - and to my amazement it seemed to rise. Thinking my eyes were playing me false I closed them, but on re-opening them, the same thing happened, and it seemed to go towards the chair on which Dr. Coulthard (one of the four people on the platform) sat. I could no longer see Dr. Coulthard, but in his place was a woman, who appeared to me to be tall, upright, thin, and somewhat elderly. She seemed to have a long thin neck, and I got the impression that she wore a dress with a high lace collar and a band of ribbon or velvet. Her hair was dressed rather high. I mentioned to my neighbour that I had seen the bowl rise and he said: " Thank God you saw it as well, I thought I was drunk." I must confess that I was very relieved when the lights were switched on. Before I could recover myself the lecture was at an end, but before I left I mentioned what I had seen to two or three people connected with the College (I believe) who were very interested, especially when they learned that this was my first visit to the College. From the description I gave they told me that I saw Mrs. Champion de Crespigny in her usual seat. I would mention: 1 am not a Spiritualist; it was my first visit to the College; I had not the slightest idea where Mrs. de Crespigny usually sat; I may possibly have seen Mrs. de Crespigny once before at a public dinner, but her appearance would be entirely different on this occasion. I make no claim to psychic powers - I am merely setting down what actually happened, thinking it might be of interest to your readers. M.A.G.

[Note. - Mrs. de Crespigny passed away on Sunday, February 10th, three days before the incident described by M.A.G.-EDITOR].

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Today Mrs De Crespigny is unknown to psychical research. Lovers of the New Forest still turn to her book on that ancient wilderness. Enthusiasts for detective stories seek her Norton Vyse novels. He lives again in the 1999 reprint “ Norton Vyse, Psychic “ from Ash-Tree Press. (www.ash-tree.bc.ca/atp43nortonvyse.htm) LESLIE PRICE …………………………………….

267 The Parapsychology Foundation: Then and Now

Carlos S. Alvarado Parapsychology Foundation

The Parapsychology Foundation (PF, www.parapsychology.org) was founded in 1951 to further the cause of parapsychology. Its president, medium and entrepreneur Eileen J. Garrett (1893-1970), was already well known for having being tested by famous researchers such as Hereward Carrington (1880-1958), Whately Carington (1884-1947), and J.B. Rhine (1895-1980). Mrs. Garrett was assisted (and funded) by Frances P. Bolton (1885-1977), a member of the US Congress and a philanthropist (http://www.parapsychology.org/dynamic/010203.html). The PF continues its work today under the Eileen Coly and Lisette Coly, the current President and Executive Director, respectively. In what follows I will briefly mention some aspects of this work with emphasis on the topic of this newsletter, historical work.

The Foundation has supported the field financially more than any other parapsychological organization in modern times. Since the 1950s the grant program has funded work on virtually all methodologies, areas and topics of parapsychology. Many different grants are available today, both for researchers and for students (http://www.parapsychology.org/dynamic/040000.html). Some examples of historically related projects funded by the PF include the four-volume book Abnormal Hypnotic Phenomena (1967-1968), a collection of papers surveying psychic phenomena in the nineteenth century mesmeric literature, edited by Eric J. Dingwall (1890-1986). More recently, Adam Crabtree received a grant to translate Pierre Janet’s (1859-1947) L’automatisme psychologique (1889), a classic in the field of dissociation that includes a section about mediumship and other issues related to psychical research. The D. Scott Rogo award (http://www.parapsychology.org/dynamic/040400.html), given to individuals working on book manuscripts, was awarded in 1995 to Eugene Taylor, who published William James on Consciousness Beyond the Margin (1996), and in 1998 to Barbara Weisberg, for her book Talking to the Dead: Kate and Maggie Fox and the Rise of Spiritualism (2004).

The Foundation is also well-known for organizing academic conferences (http://www.parapsychology.org/dynamic/020600.html). The first one was the First International Conference of Parapsychological Studies (1953), held in Utrecht, where working groups on different areas of parapsychology were formed to organize the current knowledge of the field and chart future developments. Some of the attendants that are no longer with us included Hans Bender (1907-1991), William Mackenzie (1877-1970), Emilio Servadio (1904-1995), René Sudre (1880-1968), Robert H. Thouless (1894-1984), and René Warcollier (1876-1962). Later conferences focused on a variety of topics, such as the relationship of parapsychology to anthropology, quantum physics, and religion. The last conference, held in January of 2005, focused on mediumship (http://www.parapsychology.org/dynamic/020602.html).

268 Among the PF’s publications we may mention the Parapsychological Monographs and the International Journal of Parapsychology. The journal attempts to provide a truly international and interdisciplinary approach to parapsychology. Recent papers of historical interest include my “Introduction to Michael Faraday’s Essay on Table-Moving,” followed by the essay published in 1853 in The Athenaeum (Vol. 11, No. 1), and “History of Parapsychology in Iceland,” by Loftur R. Gissurarson and Erlendur Haraldsson (Vol. 12, No, 1).

Garrett’s book Adventures in the Supernormal, first published in 1949, was reissued in 2001 by Helix Press, the publishing imprint of the PF. In addition to Garrett’s descriptions of psychic experiences, the accounts of her personal life, and of her contact with such figures as J. Hewat Mckenzie (1870-1929), the book has new additional material. It includes an essay I wrote about Garrett’s work after the original publication of the book, a bibliography of works about her, and a compilation of short reminiscences of people who knew her.

The PF’s Lyceum (http://www.pflyceum.org/7.html) is concerned with education for the general public and for students enrolled in academic institutions. The Lyceum sponsors activities such as short seminars and lectures. A recent development is a series of blogs written for newcomers and students. An example of one I wrote is “The Historical Perspective in Parapsychology” (http://www.pflyceum.org/91.html). This presents basic information about periods and trends in the history of parapsychology as well as additional bibliography and links to web pages about organizations such as the Society for Psychical Research and individuals such as Frederic W.H. Myers (1843-1901) and J.B. Rhine.

Finally, but most importantly, the PF maintains the Eileen J. Garrett Library (http://www.parapsychology.org/dynamic/030200.html). The library has over 10,000 volumes that include both recent and classic publications, as well as an international collection of both magazines and journals. The latter includes such important historical publications as Annales des sciences psychiques, Light, Luce e Ombra, and the SPR Journal and Proceedings, among others.

Although I have focused on contributions related to historical topics, it is important to be aware that the PF is always looking forward. This is particularly true when it comes to present and future needs of parapsychology.

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269 Historical Writings on Parapsychology and Its Contributions to Psychology

Carlos S. Alvarado, Ph.D. Chairman of Domestic and international Programs Parapsychology Foundation

The modern historiography of clinical psychology and psychiatry was deeply affected by Henri F. Ellenberger’s The Discovery of the Unconscious (1970). Not only did Ellenberger provide a detailed discussion of ideas of the unconscious that was unprecedented, as seen in the work of Sigmund Freud, Pierre Janet, and Carl G. Jung, among others, but he also argued that interest in parapsychological phenomena and was an important contributing factor to the development of ideas of the mind. Ellenberger credited the early mesmerists with observations of phenomena that occurred during the mesmeric trance such as secondary personalities and state specific memory, phenomena which supported the idea of non-conscious levels or layers of the mind. Furthermore, in this context Ellenberger mentioned interest in such phenomena as table turning and mediumship. He was aware of the work of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) and of the importance of such figures as Frederic W. H. Myers (for links to information on Myers and his own writings click here, and for a bibliography on Myers, click here). While these issues were not the main thrust of Ellenberger’s work, both his prestige as a scholar and his painstaking research opened the door to the positive consideration of psychical research as an influential force in psychology (on Ellenberger’s contributions to the historiography of psychiatry and psychology see Micale, 1993).

More recently, others have expanded considerably on Ellenberger. Examples are Alan Gauld’s A History of Hypnotism (1992), and Adam Crabtree’s From Mesmer to Freud: Magnetic Sleep and the Roots of Psychological Healing (1993). Both authors discuss mesmerism and hypnosis, but Crabtree also includes spiritualism and psychical research in his discussion. They have shown that a variety of concepts of the mind, such as ideas of subconscious mental activity, received a significant input from those areas that have been neglected and have been labeled as pseudoscience or simply as peripheral because they were related to parapsychological phenomena. As Crabtree (1993) has argued, all of this research coming from mesmerism and psychical research brought “scientific thinking to bear on phenomena that had largely been reserved for philosophical and theological speculation. And this in turn allowed the development, for the first time, of systematic and effective psychological healing” (p. 280). Furthermore, Crabtree argued following Ellenberger, that “some of the very first speculations on unconscious mental activity” came from attempts to explain table turning (p. ix). Similarly, Crabtree pointed out that studies of hypnosis conducted by SPR members “led to important discoveries about the nature of somnambulistic consciousness” (p. ix).

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To some extent, Bertrand Méheust’s (1999a, 1999b) two-volume work Somnambulisme et mediumnité (1784-1930) also chronicles some of this, although his emphasis is on the rejection of psychic phenomena by society, and particularly by scientists and scientific institutions. In any case one may argue that the study of something as hypnosis did not progress simply by shedding the parapsychological. Instead students of parapsychological phenomena were actively contributing conceptually even if their claims are not generally accepted today.

The dissemination of ideas about the subconscious and about the potential of the mind took place to some extent through psychical research and popular writings on psychic phenomena. Some of this is evident in the writings of Fuller (1986), Powell (1979) and Shamdasani (1993). Eugene Taylor (1996) argued in his book William James on Consciousness Beyond the Margins that the writings of SPR workers “were the main conduit to the United States for the latest developments in scientific psychotherapy in England, the Netherlands, Europe and Switzerland. Through them the earliest work of Pierre Janet on dissociation and multiple consciousness was first corroborated and transmitted to the United States in 1887, and in the early 1890s the British group [the SPR], through James and his Boston colleagues, became the route through which first news of the work of Breuer and Freud on hysteria entered the American psychological literature” (p. 23).

There is no question that the efforts of the SPR were influential during the nineteenth century and later in the development of the concept of subconscious selves and of dissociation. A recent article documented the contributions of the SPR workers to the study of dissociation (Alvarado 2002). It was argued that for the 1882-1900 period no other institution in England contributed to our knowledge of dissociation to the same extent as did the SPR. This included the hypnotic work of Edmund Gurney) and the theoretical analyses of Frederic W. H. Myers (e.g., links, bibliography) of the subliminal mind, among other lines of work. For a discussion of Myers’s contributions to psychology see Emily W. Kelly’s (2001) paper.

The SPR work was influential on others, as has been briefly argued by Alvarado (2002). Myers’s work was particularly influential. As Taylor (1996) has argued: “Myers’s formulations were ... central to the development of [William] James’s psychology and philosophy in the 1890s, and they form the epistemological core of James’s scientific activities in abnormal psychology and psychical research” (p. 79). Others have argued that Myers influenced American lay psychotherapeutic movements (Powell, 1979) as well as such figures as Pierre Janet (Crabtree, 2003; Le Maléfan, 1999). I (Alvarado, 2004) have presented a short discussion of the reception of Myers’s classic book Human Personality and Its Survival of Bodily Death.

Other authors have argued for the importance of the study of psychic phenomena in the development of European psychiatry and psychology. In Folie et Spiritisme: Histoire du

271 Discourse Psychopathologique sur la Pratique du Spiritisme, ses Abords et ses Avatars (1850-1950), Pascal Le Maléfan (1999) argued that French psychiatrists, threatened by the phenomena produced by mediums, reacted by appropriating some of the features of mediumship through the creation of particular psychiatric conditions. While the phenomena were not accepted as paranormal they influenced psychiatry and psychology nonetheless. Further examples of this, Le Maléfan argued, were the discussions of mediumship as examples of “doubling” (dédoublement), or the dissociation of consciousness in mediums. Among those influenced by SPR work and by the phenomena of mediums in their conceptualizations of dissociation, were such figures as Alfred Binet, Pierre Janet and Theodore Flournoy.

In Naissannce d’une Science Humaine: La Psychologie: Les Psychologues et le “Merveilleux Psychique”, Régine Plas (2000) argued that the idea of a subconscious mind was intimately connected to the study of psychic phenomena in France. She documented the telepathic (“mental suggestion”) work of Pierre Janet and Charles Richet, among others. In her view, “attempts to understand how thought could be transmitted ... without apparent exterior signs is what affirmed the existence of a substantive and psychic unconscious” (p. 122).

Alvarado (2002), Crabtree (1993, 2003), Méheust (1999b), and Shamdasani (1993) argue that psychical researchers have contributed to our knowledge of automatisms. Similarly, the early ESP work of Charles Richet and others contributed to the development of statistical techniques and of randomization procedures in psychology (on this see Hacking [1988], who cannot conceal his distrust and dismissal of psychical research). The point has also been made that a good proportion of the modern psychological studies of out-of-body experiences have been contributed by researchers who worked in the context of parapsychology and published in parapsychology journals (Alvarado, 1992).

There is certainly much to be done to study the contributions of psychical research to psychological knowledge. I would argue that parapsychology has contributed actively to the development of concepts of the mind, particularly the mind as a nonphysical agent. The ideas of Myers as well as of such later workers as William McDougall, J. B. Rhine, Robert Thouless and B. P. Weisner, and John Beloff are cases in point. Regardless of the validity of those views, perhaps we should see them as historians do when they examine the philosophical and scientific ideas of Aristotle and Descartes today. That is, regardless of their current validity or acceptance, we can see these ideas as contributions to the intellectual history of our attempts to understand human nature.

There have also been contributions to conventional ways to explain parapsychological phenomena that deserve study and recognition. Psychical researchers themselves, and not only their critics, have been active along these lines. This includes fraud (such as the work of Hereward Carrington, and Julian Ochorowicz), problems with human testimony (Edmund Gurney, Richard Hodgson, Eleonor M. Sidgwick, Donald J. West) and phenomena such as hallucinations, automatisms and the creation of secondary personalities (Théodore Flournoy, James H. Hyslop, Enrico Morselli, F. W. H. Myers, and René Sudre). Perhaps one day we will see such parapsychologists as Whately

272 Carington, J.G. Pratt, Charles Stuart, and Charles Honorton credited as contributors to methodologies to measure mentation quantitatively.

Furthermore, I would like to see future histories of psychology mention the contributions of parapsychologists to the human potential movement and to the empirical study of the variety of human experience. Future examinations of the work of parapsychologists may extend our understanding to the point that we may see histories that do not trivialize parapsychology work even if the ontological status of our claims has not been resolved. This does not need to be limited to psychology. As seen in some existing works (e.g., Biondi, 1988; Luckhurst, 2002), interest in, and study of, psychic phenomena has interacted with and influenced literature, religion and many practices and beliefs.

References

Alvarado, C. S. (1992). The psychological approach to out of body experiences: A review of early and modern developments. Journal of Psychology, 126, 237-250.

Alvarado, C. S. (2002). Dissociation in Britain during the late nineteenth century: The Society for Psychical Research, 1882-1900. Journal of Trauma and Dissociation, 3, 9-33. http://www.parapsych.org/PDF/Alvarado_JTD_Volume_3_2002.pdf

Alvarado, C. S (2004). On the centenary of Frederic W.H. Myers’s Human Personality and Its Survival of Bodily Death. Journal of Parapsychology, 68, 3-43. http://www.survival- research.net/downloads/alvarado_myers_jp.pdf

Biondi, M. (1988). Tavoli e Medium: Storia dello Spiritismo in Italia [Tables and Mediums: History of Spiritism in Italy]. Rome: Gremese.

Crabtree, A. (1993). From Mesmer to Freud: Magnetic Sleep and the Roots of Psychological Healing. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Crabtree, A. (2003). “Automatism” and the emergence of dynamic psychiatry. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 39, 51-70.

Ellenberger, H. F. (1970). The Discovery of the Unconscious: The History and Evolution of Dynamic Psychiatry. New York: Basic Books.

Fuller, R. G. (1986). Americans and the Unconscious. New York: Oxford University Press.

Gauld, A. (1992). A History of Hypnotism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hacking, I. (1988). Telepathy: Origins of randomization in experimental design. Isis, 70, 427-251.

Kelly, E. F. (2001). The contributions of F. W. H. Myers to psychology. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 65, 65-90.

Luckhurst, R. (2002). The Invention of Telepathy 1870-1901. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Le Maléfan, P. (1999). Folie et spiritisme: Histoire du discourse psychopathologique sur la pratique du spiritisme, ses abords et ses avatars (1850-1950) [Madness and spiritism: History of

273 the psychopathological discourse of the practice of spiritism, its approaches and avatars (1850- 1950)]. Paris: L’Hartmattan.

Méheust, B. (1999a). Somnambulisme et mediumnité (1784-1930): Vol. 1: Le défi du magnétisme animal [Sonambulism and mediumship (1784-1930): Vol. 1: The challenge of ]. Le Plessis-Robinson: Institut Synthélabo pour de Progrès de la Connaissance.

Méheust, B. (1999b). Somnambulisme et mediumnité (1784-1930): Vol. 2: Le choc des sciences Psychiques [Sonambulism and mediumship (1784-1930): Vol. 2: The crash of psychic sciences]. Le Plessis-Robinson: Institut Synthélabo pour de Progrès de la Connaissance.

Micale, M. S. (Ed.) (1993). Beyond the Unconscious: Essays of Henri F. Ellenberger in the History of Psychiatry. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Plas, R. (2000) Naissannce d’une science humaine: La psychologie: Les psychologues et le “merveilleux psychique”[The birth of a human science: Psychology: The psychologists and the “psychic marvellous”]. Rennes: Presses Universitaires de Rennes.

Powell, R. C. (1979). The “subliminal” versus the “subconscious” in the American acceptance of psychoanalysis, 1906-1910. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Science, 15, 155-165.

Shamdasani, S. (1993). and the discovery of the unconscious. Spring, 54, 100-131.

Taylor, E. (1996). William James on Consciousness Beyond the Margin. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

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Readers of the now defunct Pioneer web site may recall the following news item.

MEDIUMSHIP IN AUSTRALIA MAY BE ANCIENT

Rock paintings in Western Australia may show shamans journeying to the spirit world thousands of years ago. The paintings, known as The Bradshaws after a rancher who described them, are in the Kimberley region, and appear to stretch over many centuries. Suggested dates range from 4000 to 17000 years ago.

A geologist Per Michaelsen has claimed these could be the oldest known depiction of shamanism. Some colour reproductions appear in New Scientist 19 May 2001 in a report " Spellbound" by Allan Coukell, a New Zealand science writer.

Other scholars dispute that any paintings among the hundreds preserved, show shamanism. There is also uncertainty where the Bradshaw people came from - one painting shows a ship.

Michaelsen's research is described on www.bradshaw.dk where there is also some discussion of whether shamanism is the right term.

274 The rock paintings may be compared with others in many parts of the world on www.bradshawfoundation.com We would suggest historians of the paranormal keep an eye on this debate.

This subject has now become prominent in the alternative archaeology field with the publication of Graham Hancock’s book “Supernatural” (2005), although the extensive cave sections of the book are mainly concerned with South Africa and Europe. Hancock argues that shamans did indeed use the caves for ritual purposes, as did other members of ancient societies, and that they also employed drugs (among other methods) to induce altered states of consciousness. He champions the South African research of David Lewis-Williams, which has convinced some anthropologists that cave art, shamans and (frequently) drugs are linked.

The best known work by Lewis-Williams is probably “ The Mind in the Cave”, but in a new book “ Inside the Neolithic Mind” (2005) he argues that the shamanistic religious world dominated the lives of the first farmers of the Near East and Europe, including Ireland, and that in Neolithic times, they built structures above ground to facilitate this.

Hancock goes further, and argues that the entities experienced in drug states may be real, and similar in nature to those in alien abduction and psychical research. These experiences, he suggests, may be at the root of religion. Thus religion derives from a psychic stream, as Arthur Findlay might put it, but that stream has psychedelics in it.

Without entering into the wider religious question, in studying the pioneers we cannot avoid the transcending of boundaries. Some persons accused of witchcraft consorted with fairies; some mediums also see fairies. Other mediums receive messages from space people. There are experiences whose interpretation may vary according to the prevalent belief in society at the time.

To illustrate this, consider a report carried on the now defunct Psypioneer web site. It appeared as

News- Psychic Pioneer - February 2000.

GEORGE BUSH CONDEMNED SPIRITUALISM BUT ACCEPTED PHENOMENA. -Did aliens come to New York?

Among the earliest witnesses in the 1848 events, we intend to make available much information about Professor George Bush, a Hebrew scholar who was impressed by the trances of Andrew Jackson Davis. Bush had earlier been converted to the outlook of Swedenborg, and the Swedenborg Society in London preserves some of his writings. By 1852, however, Bush was ready to dissociate himself from Modern Spiritualism and he published a 50-page critique in his journal “New Church Repository" (July- December). This was reprinted in his “New Church Miscellanies or Essays Ecclesiastical, Doctrinal and Ethical

275 “(New York: Wm McGeorge: Boston; Otis Clapp: Philadelphia: Boerick &Tafel; London: Wm. White." 1855.) This was nominally a review of 29 separate publications on the new movement, including some short-lived journals, with copious quotations. Bush was not happy with the attitude to (or accuracy about) Swedenborg in the new revelations, and he could not accept their Christology either.

Among the cases involving Bush was that of E. P. Fowler, a medium who received messages in foreign languages, especially Hebrew, and who is occasionally mentioned in standard works. We call attention to a letter by Fowler reproduced by Bush. (p.258-9), from which we extract the following: "On the night of the 21st of November 1851, while sleeping alone in the third story of the house, I was awakened about one o'clock, by sounds of footsteps in my room. Looking up I saw five men, some of them dressed in ancient costume, walking about and conversing together. Some of them spoke with me, and among other things told me not to be frightened, that they would not harm me, &c. I attempted to rise, however to go downstairs, but found that my limbs were paralyzed. These strange visitants remained with me about three hours, and finally disappeared while going toward a window, and when within about two feet of it. They did not open the window. "During the succeeding night and about the same hour, I was awakened in a similar manner, and saw several persons in my room. Some of those who were present on the previous night were present with others whom I had never seen before. One of them had what appeared to be a box about eighteen inches square, and some nine inches high: it seemed to contain electrical apparatus. "They placed the box on the table, and then electrical emanations like currents of light of different colors, were seen issuing from the box. One of the company placed a piece of paper, pen and ink on the lid of this box. The luminous currents now centered around the pen, which was immediately taken up and dipped in the ink, and without the application of any other force or instrument, so far as I could perceive, the pen was made to move across the paper, and a communication was made which I have since learned was in the Hebrew language." When the visitors left they took with them the box. Fowler maintained he was wide- awake. We may readily guess however how his experience might have been experienced had he been a Mormon - or a reader of ufology.

In his new book “Sex and Psychic Phenomena" (Blandford, 1999, UK) Dr Paul Chambers notes: (p.21) " the first clinical diagnosis of sleep paralysis was given by Silas Weir Mitchell in 1876, but its effect must have been known and talked about for some time prior to this, as is reflected in a number of nineteenth century texts including, most surprisingly, the book Moby Dick, written in 1851, which describes a classic case of sleep paralysis on the character Ishmael, including the stresses leading up to it. The clinical definition of sleep paralysis is of a person who wakes up to find themselves temporarily unable to move any part of their body except the eyes. The person can remain paralysed for a few seconds to several minutes, and will only be able to move

276 after making an effort to twitch a small muscle. Once this is achieved, the state of paralysis is broken and the person can move once more."

The coincidence of date (1851) will be noted. We shall be returning to Fowler and to Professor Bush later.

This promise we hope to redeem soon, but meanwhile, who were the entities seen in this vision? Were they a) angels b) demons c) fairies d) spirits e) extraterrestrials f) just dreams associated with sleep paralysis.

It seems unlikely that Graham Hancock’s new book will be much reviewed in parapsychology journals, but the questions it raises are very relevant to the interpretation of the experiences of the pioneers.

LESLIE PRICE ……………………………………………………..

To mark the twentieth issue of the Pioneer, we are offering a short quiz. Here are twenty questions whose answers can be found in the successive issues of the newsletter.

1) Which SPR founder is omitted from the SPR web site?

2) Which prime Minister belonged to the Lyceum?

3) Where was the Spiritual Brotherhood located?

4) Who edited Herald of Progress?

5) Who responded coolly to the Australian phenomena of George Spriggs?

6) How many mediums are involved in the longest running project in psychical research?

7) Which bachelor medium was wrongly accused of matrimony in the new Dictionary of National Biography?

8) Which daughter of Arthur Conan Doyle has been virtually ignored by biographers?

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9) Who said “ You supply the faith- we will find the money”

10) Which Irish medium founded an international research organisation?

11) Who was the first medium to work professionally in London?

12) Who was woken up by raps at the Fox house in Hydesville a year before the Fox family moved in?

13) Who predicted there would be no war for the next decade at least – in spring 1939?

14) Who first spoke of healers on the BBC radio?

15 and 16) which clairvoyant appeared before Queen Victoria, and who was her partner

17) Who was the first research officer of the International Institute for Psychical research, as it was originally called?

18) Which Antipodean group celebrated the building of their new hall with a concert and a social in 1900?

19) Whose thumb print was not as claimed?

20) Of which organisation was Mrs Rose Champion de Crespigny the leader at her death?

Numerate readers will have noticed that because of a joint issue there are only 19 questions in reality. So here is a bonus question: To which pioneers do you think we should give attention? We have tended to add snippets of information to what is known about the top pioneers, and more generous chunks about pioneers of the second rank- the sort of people who don’t get biographical articles on the Net, but who were significant in their day. Although we have at times jumped from the Stone Age to the present, we have focussed on Victorian times, and the interwar years, in the UK, America and Australia. But there are many subjects and eras to which we have yet to give much attention – Kardecism for example and certain types of Christian Spiritualism. So make sure you don’t miss an issue (why not become a subscriber?) and that the Newsletter is seen by all those, whatever their views, who have an interest in the pioneers.

Quiz answers in next issue

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NOTES BY THE WAY

Light on Mabel Collins ………………

Discovering the truth about pioneers is often difficult. The more famous ones sometimes have an interest in concealing the truth about themselves -and this can be continued by their party long after their death. Investigative biographers are therefore worth their weight in gold. They don’t just phone up the London Library, read a few literary works, and let the witty writing flow. They spend long hours in the British Library, and in obscure archive repositories, pouring over old newspaper volumes, and corresponding with sources all over the world.

Kim Farnell joined the largely unsung community of psychic biographers with her groundbreaking study of Walter Old (“ Sepharial”) “ The Astral Tramp” in 1998. Now she has produced a substantial account “ Mystical Vampire- the life and works of Mabel Collins” Oxford, Mandrake, 2005”(www.compulink.co.uk/~mandrake/books.htm)

The novelist Mabel Collins (Mrs Keningale Cook.) was a private Spiritualist medium in the 1870s. We know this because on occasion witnesses from that era recall her presence at home circles and the like (e.g. Isabel de Steiger “ Memorabilia, 1927). Florence Marryat was so impressed by an apparent communication from her daughter via Mabel that she gave a vivid account in “There is no Death” (1891).

In 1878, however, Mabel began to have Egyptian flavoured communications, possibly because she was living where Cleopatra’s Needle was being set up on the Embankment, London. Some of this material became “Idyll of the White Lotus” and appeared in the Banner of Light. In 1884, when Mabel came into contact with Madame Blavatsky, the latter attributed the Idyll to a Mahatma. A second inspired work “Light on the Path” was then received which was to achieve worldwide fame. This was attributed to the same source, though when Mabel parted company with Blavatsky in acrimony, this was questioned by Mabel.

The later travails of Mabel, her partial return to Theosophy and her work for animal welfare are investigated by Kim Farnell. At the end of this fascinating and moving biography, we are left with the question- just where did Mabel obtain the inspiration to write at least two inspired works of a quality to last?

LESLIE PRICE

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How to obtain this Newsletter

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To contact Psypioneer please e-mail. [email protected]

Paul J. Gaunt.

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